The Others – in depth

We’ve covered off some of the matches of the weekend, but who else is playing, and what are the details for them?

Italy v South Africa

Italy again welcome South Africa as part of their Autumn Internationals and will be looking for a repeat of last years famous first ever win over the Springboks.

Previous matches between the two

Italy have not had a great year, winning only 1 match (against Fiji – two weekends ago). South Africa, on the other hand, have improved since 2016 and, although they are still prone to a meltdown or two, should be strong enough to see off Italy this weekend.

We have this match finishing 10 – 22 to the Springboks.

Romania v Tonga

Romania play Tonga in what is only their 3rd match in their history. The record between the two currently stands at 1 apiece, but both matches were close run affairs.

Rankings through history

Given the close state of the rankings this should be a tight match again, but Romania have the slight edge due to home advantage being worth 3 ‘extra’ ranking points.

We have this match finishing 23 – 21 to Romania.

Georgia v USA

Georgia play the USA in Tbilisi this weekend for the 6th time in their history. USA lead the head to head 3 – 2 but Georgia have shown a marked improvement over recent years and have already beaten the USA this year on foreign soil, 17 – 21.

Rankings through history

With the return match on home turf for the Georgians, we think that they should prove too much for the USA and have them winning 29 – 16.

Namibia v Uruguay

Namibia face Uruguay for the second time in as many weeks, but only the third time in their respective histories. Uruguay have won both previous games between the two and dominated last week’s fixture, winning 36 – 52 in Windhoek.

Namibia v Uruguay – the chances

We have Namibia winning this one as, statistically at least, they are the stronger side. However, given last weeks match, this is the fixture we are not sure will go the way of our predictions, so it will be interesting to see how the match turns out.

Canada v Fiji

Canada take on Fiji on neutral ground this weekend for the 11th fixture between the two. Fiji have won 7 of the 10 matches, with the most recent Canadian win coming in 2013.

Canada have not had a good year, winning only 2 matches (against Chile and Spain), but Fiji have enjoyed some good success in 2017, winning all their home matches (Italy, Scotland, Tonga and Samoa).

We have this match finishing 12 – 39 to the Fijians.

France v Japan

France are playing Japan in Paris in what will be the 4th match in their history. France have won all the previous matches between the two, but the games have usually been very high scoring.

Japan thrashed Tonga last weekend and, given France’s recent woes, they may feel they have a chance of an upset. However, it is likely that the French will prove too strong for the Japanese, especially on home turf.